da betcris： This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…
da spicy bet： Genk manager Felice Mazzu believes that his side may be able to get something from Wednesday’s Champions League clash against Liverpool, but only on the basis, that star man Mohamed Salah does not feature.
What’s the word?
The Egyptian missed the 1-1 draw against Manchester United on Sunday due to an ankle injury before the international break, and could be back in contention for the Reds’ third game of their European campaign.
The Belgian outfit has not had the best of returns to the Champions League after an eight-year absence. Blauw-Wit were thrashed 6-2 by RB Salzburg in their opening game and held to a 0-0 draw by group leaders Napoli at the Luminus Arena.
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Liverpool’s results haven’t been much better after only picking up three points in their first two games. A defeat to Napoli and a win against RB Salzburg put the Merseyside club in second place in Group E.
The Genk boss spoke in his pre-match press conference and believes that they have a chance if Salah is absent.
Quoted by TuttoMercatoWeb, he said: “We hope that Salah will not play, in that case, they will play a different style.
“If we play with the same conviction we had against Napoli, I think we can do something, even if Liverpool is even better (than Napoli).”
One eye on Tottenham
The Reds will not ignore the Premier League game against Spurs that awaits them on Sunday and may choose to rest the 27-year-old entirely, or risk aggravating his ankle further by playing him out in Belgium. However, having lost to Napoli already, they cannot afford to slip further behind Gli Azzuri if they manage to beat RB Salzburg.
The presence of a creative midfielder in the form of Naby Keita or Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain would reduce the need for Salah to play, and keep him fresh for the Tottenham game.
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Despite having a tricky first season at Anfield since his £48m move from RB Leipzig, Keita will want to show manager Jurgen Klopp why he should be starting regularly for Liverpool. His final season at the Bundesliga outfit saw him score six goals and provide five assists, as well as accumulate a passing accuracy of 81.4%. This illustrates the quality that he and what he can offer the team when the Guinea international is playing well.
His other option is to feature Oxlade-Chamberlain in the midfield trio. The 26-year-old put his name in lights at Anfield after a 25-yard strike against Manchester City helped the Reds beat the Citizens 3-0 in the Champions League in 2018.
During his first campaign in the Premier League, the Englishman scored three times and assisted on seven occasions before sustaining multiple cruciate ligament damage in his knee against Roma. The setback saw him miss the majority of the 2018/19 campaign.
The manager has alternatives that he can go to if he needs them. Regardless of Mazzu’s comments, this Liverpool side is more than capable of beating Genk, with or without Salah.